Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the far future…there is only war.  Forget progress and reason, for only superstition and paranoia rule supreme.

Trust was a rare luxury few could afford, especially if you’ve got something to hide. More so if you’re a civilian stuck on a battle barge belonging to the Ultramarine Legion and trying to lay low until you were reunited with your family or just made a chapter serf. This was a lone child’s current predicament after being rescued from the battle torn world of Kadaku.

Saoirse considered herself ridiculously lucky her secret remained safe. A member of the Death Watch had found her unconscious and had protected her until they were found by the Ultramarines, but that was the extremely watered down story she fed the Marines that saved them from the Tyrranid onslaught. The black Space Marine that saved her had been badly injured and had been taken away for treatment.

“Oi!” a voice cut through the girl’s thoughts and she nearly dropped the broom she held.

“Sorry!” The child spun and looked her caretaker in the eye, an elderly man that had spent most of his life cleaning this very ship. The bald man only chuckled and patted her head.

“Still thinking about that Astartes, are you?”

“Yes,” her gaze turned to the floor and she gripped the broom handle hard. “I hope he recovers.”

“Oh, child. Have faith. His life is in the Emperor’s hands now. The only thing you can do is serve his battle brothers so they may focus on saving your home. Do you think you can do that, little one?”

She only nodded.

“Well, these floors won’t sweep themselves. Get as much done before meal time.” The elder patted her head again and shuffled off to his own task.

Once he was out of the room, Saoirse brought out a little toy that resembled a brick with a digital screen in the middle of it and three buttons to the right of it. The concerned face of a white and blue monster resembling a dinosaur from Terra's far ancient past.

“Any luck, Gammamon?” she asked the creature.

“Nothing.” her friend said in a squeaky voice. “They’re being all hush-hush about him.”

Saoirse flinched at the sound of approaching footsteps, quickly shoved her toy back into her pocket and began sweeping the floor again, only briefly stopping to push her honey blonde hair out of her face. Many serfs of the Ultramarine Chapter had commented that she looked very much like the Lord Regent with her curly hair and focused eyes despite their color being green instead of blue; she always told them she didn’t see the resemblance. It didn’t help that she still wore her normal attire of a blue tunic, tan trousers, a belt with a large pouch pocket where she kept her Digivice, and brown boots instead of the brown robes of the Chapter Serf.

The footsteps got louder, and now she was sure whoever was heading this way was in armor. An Astartes maybe? It did sound heavy enough to be one of them. By the time she came to that thought, the person had entered the room she was working in and appeared to have stopped. There were no other sounds, yet the hairs on the back of her neck raised and a chill went down her spine. She turned and got a look at-

“It’s you!” she exclaimed with a big smile. Standing at the opposite side of the room staring at her was the Astartes that had saved her on Kadaku, but he was now sporting the blue armor of the Ultramarines instead of black. Four metallic studs adorned his brow along with several scars from past battles. “You’re alive!”

“And so are you, little one,” he greeted her warmly and stepped closer. “Are you adjusting well?”

“It’s leagues better than constantly looking out for xenos, my Lord,” Saoirse jested while answering him. “The Chapter Serfs have been trying to persuade me to stay if my parents…” She trailed off, but he seemed to understand.

“It is a safe option compared to being shipped off to an orphanage,” he commented. “Might I ask you something?”

“What is it, sir?”

“I recall there being an additional beast in my fight against the Tyrranid swarm. Did you see what it was?”

She shook her head, doing her best to pretend not to know. Of course she remembered her partner coming out to defend her and the Astartes until both she and her partner were knocked out by the most aggressive Tyrranid that nearly killed the once Death Watch Marine. Her monster friend had reverted to an egg after that fight and he had only just gotten back to his child stage recently today.

“My memories of that day are hazy, sir, but I don’t recall seeing any other creature coming to our aid.”

“Very well. If you remember anything…”

“I’ll come and find you….Uh, what is your name, sir? I don’t think we ever introduced ourselves.”

“I am Lieutenant Titus of the Second Company.”

“Good to finally know your name, my Lord. My name is Saoirse Atrates.”

“Atrates? As in the Rogue Trader house Atrates?”

“Yes, my Lord. My parents and I were meeting up with a family friend on Kadaku when the xenos invaded. We were separated in the initial evacuation and my shuttle crashed near the complex you were heading to when you found me.”

“That explains why you were close by. The Emperor must have been looking out for you that day.”

“The Emperor protects,” she shrugged. With that, Titus left and Saoirse breathed a sigh of relief when she was sure she was alone again. Her secret was safe for now.

“So, did she provide insight?”

“No. She claims to not remember that day well, but is clearly hiding something.” Titus, clearly perturbed, reported to the Captain of the Second Company.

“There is more.” This was stated as a matter of fact instead of a question, prompting the reinstated Ultramarine to continue.

“She is a child of a Rogue Trader house ordained by the Emperor himself. She may not be allowed to speak of the creature in question.”

“Ah, yes. House Atrates, the most unorthodox dynasty of Traders with many accomplishments to put most others to shame. However, if what you saw truly occurred, then the child would need to be kept away from the Inquisition. All Tech Priests onboard have been observing the child and have been actively keeping her away from the Chaplain; an odd occurrence, but concerning all the same.”

“All of our forces are needed on the field.”

“I am already working around that and have spoken with the Priests. She will be assigned to tend to a Tech Priest and will be protected by them until the truth is revealed.”

In an empty Mechanicus base on the surface of Avarax, a blue portal opened from a terminal screen and two bodies flew out, another human girl, near in age to Saoirse, and her partner Digimon.

“Ugh…” the girl moaned while rubbing her head. “Where did we land this time?” The raven haired child picked herself up off the floor and checked her partner. “You okay, Rasenmon?”

“I’m fine,” her spikey friend towering over her said. “I’m more worried about where we landed. This doesn’t look like anything from the Real World, Cassie.”

The two took in their surroundings, and Cassie had to agree the amount of pipes and excessive use of candles didn’t fit in any setting from her world. Then she turned to the terminal that spat them out and took note of the archaic technology. There was no way anyone in or out of UNSC territory would use something so outdated.

“Maybe we can get some answers here,” she approached the terminal, not seeing any keyboard to type commands in. “Uh, can I talk to anyone here?”

“Greetings, Unknown Tamer and Digital life form.” A robotic voice responded. No AI hologram or image appeared, but green text began to fill the screen. “Inquiry: Designation.”

Cassie and Rasenmon exchanged a brief glance before they answered.

“I’m Cassandra.”

“And I’m Rasenmon.”

“Information recorded. Tamer Cassandra. Digital life form Rasenmon. State your inquiry.”

“Uh….Where are we? Does the UNSC exist here?” Cassie went ahead and got to the point. Something told her she wouldn’t like the answer, but they needed to know.

“Location: Adeptus Mechanicus research facility. Planet Avarax. Inquiry of UNSC: error. No records found.”

“Well, now we know this isn’t our universe,” Rasenmon noted.

“On top of all that, we got pulled here by something. At least we didn’t get turned into a fireball again. Uh…Computer, do you have a name?”

“Identify as Machine Spirit.”

“Machine Spirit?” What world did they land in? “Alright. Rasenmon and I are from another universe. Can you tell us anything that can help us survive?”

“Select your inquiry.” The terminal brought up a list of five topics. In order they were: The Imperium of Man, the Adeptus Mechanicus, Avarax, Ultramarines, and Current Threat.

“Get comfortable, bud. This is gonna take a bit.”

Chapter Text

Saoirse was assisting a Tech Priest that decided she would serve them in repairing equipment in the Armory. Her House’s insistence in teaching their children how to safely clean guns had come in handy; the Tech Priest had taken note in her competence in executing the proper rituals and rites in basic maintenance.

“You are more new to battle, aren’t you?” she asked the blonde Astartes before her, clearly unimpressed with the state of his bolter. This was another thing the Tech Priest approved: she had no qualms in chewing out people, no matter their rank, for not taking care of their equipment. “Or do you lack your Primarch’s patientce to do basic maintenance?”

“I have been in service for over a century,” he said, not at all appreciating the sass the child was giving him.

“Then you would know to regularly oil the inside of the barrel of your guns so they don’t have scarring that lead to disaster!” She informed him, pointing the disassembled barrel in the Astartes’s face. “Your bolter’s barrel is heavily gouged from lack of proper maintenance and is now a ticking time bomb!”

“The Machine Spirit is very displeased as well,” the Tech Priest added, also agitated with the state of the Astartes’s bolter. “It will take twenty-four Terra hours to fully repair and appease the Machine Spirit.”

“I am to be deployed to the planet today.” The Astartes’s, not at all pleased to hear the news, tried to protest.

“Then you had better start getting into the habit of maintaining your weapons properly before you get yourself and your brothers killed out there,” the Tech Priest retrieved the barrel from Saoirse along with the rest of the bolter and walked away to begin the rites to start repairing the weapon.

Saoirse watched the Astartes’s leave, meeting up with his ebony skinned brother, before she herself turned around and joined the Tech Priest in the repair work.

“Let us begin,” the Priest said and began to chant in binary as the child swung the incense holder above the weapon. Once the initial rites were performed, they cleaned the bolter with blessed oil and special cloth. “Your Machine Spirit is a curious creature.”

Invisible to everyone else but herself and the Mechanicus Priests, Gammamon watched them work in his Ghost Form. The little dinosaur Digimon looked transparent in this form, yet he could still interact with the world around him.

“Well, it’s not an every day occurrence we get to assist a Tech Priest with their work,” Saoirse said, handing over the proper tools to fit a new barrel onto the bolter. The old barrel would need extensive work to be back in working order, so swapping it out was deemed more practical considering the situation.

When she had been assigned to the Tech Priest, she was afraid they’d discover her secret initially, but the Mechanicus appeared to be in the know about Digimon. If anything, they were actively keeping her away from the Company Chaplain and anyone with ties to the Inquisition. They considered her blessed by the Omnissiah for having a Digimon partner and being able to directly speak with Machine Spirits.

“Go and assist Magos Galeo,” the Priest ordered her. “This part of the ritual requires intense concentration and precision.”

“Understood, honorable Priest,” she gave a bow of respect and scampered off with Gammamon following her. Her Digimon partner remained quiet for the most part and randomly moved a tool or object just to prank someone. She firmly whispered, “Gammamon, behave yourself.”

He giggled, but stopped the pranks.

Titus approached Magos Galeo’s station per the instructions he received. He did not expect to see the child he protected assist the Magos.

“Yours is a face I have not logged for quite some time, Titus,” the Magos spoke to Titus.

“You requested my presence,” Titus replied.

“How are you acclimating to your new status?”

“I have no complaints.”

“Intriguing. Predictions determined a point nine probability that you would-”

“I have pressing duties, Magos,” he reminded the mechanical man.

“Very well. Engage the armory terminal. I will see to it you are well equipped for your mission.” As Titus engaged the terminal, the Magos addressed Saoirse whom was placing a wall panel back on. “Tamer, if you could monitor the data stream.”

“Yes, Magos,” the girl sprung up, done with her previous task and took up a data slate.

“I’ve seen you more times than I’d care to today,” Gadriel said when the child got to work.

“The feeling is mutual, greenhorn,” she retorted and Titus raised a brow. What did he miss?

“Greenhorn?” the Sargent tilted his head, not knowing what Saoirse just called him.

“Greenhorn is a term used to describe one that is new to their station and has yet to achieve an acceptable level of competence,” the Magos explained, not at all mincing his words. “Considering the state of your bolter earlier, the designation appears appropriate.”

Chairon actually chuckled at that and Titus couldn’t stop the slight smile that crept on his face. Now the Lieutenant was beginning to understand, and it explained why Gadriel was missing a bolter.

“You saved a mouthy one, Lieutenant,” Chairon remarked.

“Have you heard anything from your House, little one?” Titus asked the child while he was outfitted with the gear needed for his mission and her demeanor brightened.

“Yes. The Astropath managed to get a message to my grandmother,” she bounced on her heels, continuing to observe the data stream. “She and the rest of the House Atrates fleet are on their way to come get me and provide support.”

“Atrates?!” Gadriel muttered, clearly surprised. Chairon shared the sentiment while Titus was already aware of the girl’s relation to the Rogue Trader House.

“Their assistance would be a great boon,” the Magos noted as the terminal disengaged from Titus and the Astartes stepped back.

“Your biometrics look normal. Interface looks stable as well.” Saoirse reported confidently.

“You have the blessings of the Omnissiah,” the Magos dismissed him then.

“My thanks, Magos,” he turned away and rejoined his battle brothers.

“Galeo will do. We have worked together enough for that.”

Saoirse couldn’t help but feel like something was about to happen. Meeting Titus a third time in the span of two days? Something had to be brewing.

“You did exemplary, Tamer,” Magos Galeo’s robotic voice brought her out of her thoughts. “Your worries in being a burden are clearly unfounded.”

“We still don’t know what I’m capable of, Magos,” she said, not looking the Magos in the eye. A mechanical appendage rested on her shoulder and nudged her to turn to face him.

“What troubles you, child?” There was no emotion in his voice, but the Magos’s actions conveyed his concern.

“I…I just feel like something big is about to happen,” she admitted. “Something we are nowhere near ready to face.”

The Magos was quiet for a long moment, and then said, “The Omnissiah has guided you this far, and you have heeded His warnings before. I shall confer with the Archmagos once he is onboard to better asses the potential danger. For now, continue your repair work with your Machine Spirit and continue to build your bond.”

Despite the lack of humanity in him, hearing the Magos take her worries seriously was a big relief for her.

Another blast shook the area as Cassie and Rasenmon continued to thin the Tyrranid swarm in their path to the location the first terminal instructed her to go to. She kept a safe distance between herself and her target, taking shots at a distance without any Guardsmen or Astartes noticing her. Very rarely did Rasenmon have to step in to deal with a nasty bugger getting too close for comfort.

“These things are just as bad as the Flood,” she exclaimed after encountering a massive Tyrranid. “At least they’re not parasites.” She checked her gun again, a lasgun she picked up from a fallen soldier earlier.

The different weapons compared to the UNSC standard pistol threw her off at first, but employing her uncle’s initial weapons training helped her get used to the bulky weapons. It helped that the Mechanicus terminals gave her access to maintenance instructions as well.

“I’ll be glad to be back home when this is all done,” Rasenmon growled, shaking off the gore from the encounter. “Not being able to move through terminal networks is the worst!”

That was another massive difference they encountered the first day they arrived. The computer terminals were not interconnected in a network like her original world. Back home, she could dive into a terminal in one city and pop out at a completely different continent in a matter of minutes or hours. Here, the terminals were not connected unless the Machine Spirits were awake, making it difficult to travel along network connections enough to make it more practical to walk instead.

“Then let’s find out why we’re here and get the ball rolling to fix whatever mess we got pulled into,” she patted her partner and jogged ahead.

“You’ve grown a lot these past few months,” her partner remarked, catching up to her with little effort. “You used to be scared to hold a gun, and now you’re taking shots like a pro.”

Cassie slowed, thinking back to the beginning of their adventure. They had survived escaping Reach, the whole Halo fiasco, Halsey kidnapping them to a Forerunner bunker, bouncing around an unstable connection to get to Earth, and lastly the Ark. Did all of that really happen in the span of a few months? It felt like an entire lifetime had passed in that short span. She was still only eleven years old.

“We’ve been through a lot together,” she said. “You’ve changed too.”

Rasenmon just scooped her up and carried her in silence, picking up the pace when her Digi-Bracelet indicated they were close to the Mechanicus temple that was their current objective.

Chapter Text

Saoirse and Gammamon were both assisting in the armory when they overheard something concerning. While staying innocuous, they overheard Astartes and Tech Priests speak of something that happened on the surface of Kadaku.

"Archmagos Nozick is dead," she heard a Tech Priest say in their machine language, still surprised she could understand their words. Everything else was said too fast for her to comprehend, but it appeared the news was traveling fast among the priests.

"Was that the Archmagos we heard of earlier?" Saoirse asked Gammamon as they exchanged concerned glances. "The one Galeo was going to discuss the situation with?"

"It might have been," her ghostly partner said.

They both silently sneaked over to the armory entrance to peak out into the flight deck, seeing a Thunderhawk return from Kadaku and land neatly before the rear ramp lowered. Both child and Digimon felt something was very, very wrong as they watched an object wrapped in chains be carried out of the craft and a chill ran down their spines. Saoirse could've sworn she saw a shadow skitter around the container. Then a familiar figure was carried off.

"Titus!" Saoirse almost ran out, but Gammamon held her back before anyone could notice her. "What happened?"

"I don't know, but I bet whatever they brought back is the reason for this," her partner tugged her away to a quiet spot away from anyone not a Mechanicus priest. "We've gotta warn the ship! That thing they brought back has got something attached to it."

"You saw it too?"

"Yeah, and I'm sure it's not friendly."

"I wished Nan was here, or even another Tamer. We're in way over our heads and so is the Mechanicus."

Titus woke in his quarters some time after returning to the battle barge. His vision blurred, then focused as he stood up.

"The captain is withholding something."

"Acheran would not deceive us, Gadriel."

"Then where did Demetrian Titus serve previously? And why is he back in battle so soon after such grievous surgery?" It appeared he had worried his battle brothers, though Gadriel was asking questions he would rather not answer. This felt eerily similar to a previous situation long ago.

"Sargent Ventiad spoke of a Deathwatch team that deployed the virus bomb on Kadaku. Perhaps our Lieutenant was one of them. I am far more concerned with what we just saw at that crash site."

He walked out of his quarters slowly and his brothers turned to face him.

"Lieutenant," said Gadriel.

"Brother, are you recovered?" Chairon asked.

"I am," he replied, though his instinct said something was amiss not with his body, but with whatever was recovered from Kadaku.

"The apothecaries should run a diagnostic," Chairon continued.

"I neither have the time nor need for such a process." While the suggestion was sound, the current war against the invading Tyrranid fleet would not allow it such an extensive diagnostic procedure.

"Magos Galeo expressed his concern as well. Consider his counsel, if not ours."

"If there is risk of recurrence, it puts the whole squad in jeopardy," Gadriel pointed out, thinking like a leader he would undoubtedly become one day.

"It can wait," Titus said, knowing his brothers were right, but was in no realistic position to take the needed time for an exam. "I must speak with Captain Acheran."

"As you command," Gadriel and Chairon knew a losing battle when they saw it. With that, they followed Titus to the lift that would take them to the command bridge. Once the lift was moving did Gadriel speak, "While you were out, that Atrates child asked about you."

"And she gave you a fright with her politeness," Chairon jested with a smirk.

"What do you know of House Atrates?" Titus asked them, curious to see if Gadriel did any investigating on their company's unexpected guest.

"They are among the oldest Rogue Trader Houses," Gadriel said. "Ordained by the Emperor himself when he walked among us. They are well experienced in dealing with Xenos and artifacts of varying origins, including technology from the Dark Age."

"They are experts in handling the strange and unexpected, and train their children to be prepared to handle anything the universe might throw at them," he added to Gadriel's assessment. "It is why she has been assigned to tend to a Tech Priest until her family comes to collect her."

"They will be eager to avenge their fallen kin," Chairon added and caught him off guard.

Titus looked his brother in the eye and commanded, "Explain."

"The child's parents were confirmed dead yesterday."

A silent moment passed before he continued, "Has she been informed?"

"I am not sure, sir," Chairon then appeared to understand where Titus's thoughts had gone to. "But I will not be the one to break the news to her."

"Nor I," Gadriel solemnly swore as well. "That duty should be in the hands of her guardian."

"In the meantime, make no mention of it."

Cassie had no idea what to make of the so-called Tech Priest she'd met yesterday. The terminal she encountered on her first day in this grim dark universe gave her a whole trove of information to work with, but it didn't prepare her for when she'd meet a cyborg in red robes.

Currently said priest, an odd ball named Leuze, was poking and prodding poor Rasenmon while throwing a million and one questions regarding their abilities together.

"Fascinating," the man said, clearly excited like a kid on Christmas, as he made more notes regarding Cassie and her partner's abilities. She was secretly glad she didn't mention the rest of her roster; she didn't want to imagine the man's head imploding from that revelation. "A magnificent boon you two posses. It is clear you two hold great favor with the Omnissiah!"

"I don't think getting thrown into a different universe counts as being 'favored' by your god," Cassie snorted. She could argue with him until she turned blue that she was called by a Digital World and not by a god, but with how zealous this reality's people were, there was no way he'd ever entertain that idea. "Still, I-"

Her Digi-Bracelet began to beep an all too familiar alarm, cutting her off.

"What is it?" Leuze asked, watching her check the device and read the information it was feeding her. "What does that alarm indicate?"

"That was a distress signal alarm," she explained, remembering the first time she got that signal in the peak of the battle for Earth. "Another Tamer is calling for help. Mind if I borrow a terminal?"

Leuze gestured to the large terminal he'd been recording his discoveries in and Cassie quickly tapped her Digi-Bracelet against the monitor screen. A map of the planetary system popped up, showing an incoming ship where the signal was coming from.

"It's not an urgent signal," she explained, bringing up information regarding the ship. "And with the lack of any other data, I'm guessing this Tamer is relatively new to being a Tamer. In any…" She trailed off when an additional data stream began to roll across the screen. She squinted, then her eyes widened when she fully processed what she was reading. "Please tell me this terminal can send signals to something that connects to that ship."

"What is it?" the priest asked.

"There's something on that ship that had a really, really nasty Digimon attached to it," she explained as Rasenmon read the data stream. "Everyone on that ship is in danger!"

"There are capable Astartes on that-"

"Capable soldiers with weapons that won't work on a Digimon if it's not entirely physical!" That put everything into perspective for the priest and he showed her where she and Rasenmon needed to go to.

Something was wrong. More so than usual. Saoirse and Gammamon both encountered web-like material during their work and others were encountering the stuff all over the ship. Even the Astartes were on edge.

"Why do I feel that whatever they brought back from Kadaku is biting us in the rear now?" Saoirse said, holding onto the still invisible Gammamon. They were both huddled near Magos Galeo, too afraid to venture out of the armory. She didn't even relax at the sight of three familiar Ultramarines.

"I have received the reports, Titus," Magos Galeo said as the Lieutenant approached the Magos's station. "I am concerned."

"It was brief-" Titus sounded as though he were about to downplay whatever happened to him, but cut off when a string shot out from above and stuck to Saoirse's arm. With blinding speed, he brought up his bolter and took aim as the child was quickly pulled up, her pained screams she was sure echoed down the ship. With insane precision, a bolt tore through the string, dropping the girl from high up.

Chairon had quickly caught her and the other two Astartes hurried over, forming a circle around her. Saoirse held her throbbing arm, seeing Gammamon hurry over to her and look for what tried to take her.

"Are you hurt, little one?" Chairon asked.

"My arm," she gritted out, looking up to see glowing red eyes and the flickering figure of a spider-like Digimon.

"What is that?" Gadriel brought everyone's attention to the monster observing them with a wide, sadistic grin. The Digimon looked half human and half spider with white hair. It didn't seem to care when someone sounded the alarm and it dropped down close to the group.

It let out a manic giggle and said, "Oh, it will be exhilarating to hunt you down, Tamer!"

Chapter Text

Gammamon didn’t hesitate to rush up and blast the Digimon in the face, causing it to stop flickering for a brief moment and also reveal himself.

“Gammamon!” Saoirse called out to her partner as the Astartes around then fired at the spider-like Digimon, each bolt landing until it began to flicker again and retreated back up to the ceiling to quickly heal it’s injuries. “Was that an Arachnemon?”

“Yes, but it’s acting a lot different from the ones we dealt with before,” the dinosaur Digimon confirmed, rearing to fight.

“Save your ammunition,” Titus commanded the Astartes tracking the enemy. Again, the Arachnemon attempted to get to her, only to be thwarted by some quick maneuvering from Chairon, who grabbed both her and her partner and sprinted to the flight deck. Gammamon shot another shot at the enemy, hitting it’s leg and forcing it to remain physical for another short time. “Fire only when it is completely physical.”

“Be careful!” Saoirse called out, getting everyone’s attention. “That thing usually has minions accompanying it that look like giant spiders!”

The Arachnemon cackled manically and charged toward her again, not caring for the holes the bolts tore through it’s body. More webs shot out from all directions and forced Chairon to stop and put both her and Gammamon down to draw his own gun. Chittering filled the air as a dozen Dokugumon, giant spider Digimon with skull paterns on their back, began to appear, also flickering like their Arachnemon master. Titus and Gadriel pushed through the webs and regrouped with their comrade.

“Stay close to us,” Chairon told her before leveling his bolter gun at a Dokugumon.

Saoirse took out her Digivice and clutched it tight, gathering her courage to face down the enemy alongside the Imperium’s best warriors.

“Emperor, please help us,” she prayed, and was answered by her device beeping. Every terminal screen in the combat zone displayed an orange symbol resembling a sun and a pulse was felt by all. With that pulse, all of the enemy Digimon became fully physical and Arachnemon was sent flying from a newly emerged Digimon’s punch. “Holy Terra! He answered us!”

Their salvation came in the form of a bipedal, gray Digimon standing taller than a Dreadnought with red spikes jutting out of it’s back. Standing with him was a girl about Saoirse’s age, wearing an odd, gray hooded jacket and a set of aviator goggles. The sun symbol glowed orange on the girl’s wrist and the Dokugumon recoiled away from the pair.

“Wipe ‘em out, Rasenmon!” the girl commanded and the Digimon launched at the recovering Arachnemon. The girl then brought the glowing device on her wrist up to her face and said, “Battle zone established. Tagging allies.”

Saoirse, Gammamon and every present Astartes were marked with the symbol.

“Alright, the playing field has been leveled,” the girl’s voice boomed across the flight deck. She pulled out a lasgun and popped a round into an approaching Dokugumon’s head, felling the enemy with one shot. “The enemy is restricted to this area. Pick your target and have at it!”

Cassie ducked and dodged as bolts and giant armored men flew around her, felling the Dokugumon rapidly. She got to a railing and saw Rasenmon tear into the Arachnemon with a mighty roar.

“What is going on with this bug?” she wondered aloud. “It should’ve fallen by now!” She looked to her Digi-Bracelet and read some concerning data regarding the Arachnemon. Something had altered the structural coding of the sadistic Digimon and had made it more resilient than normal.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood and she spun around, bringing her bracelet up to activate her shield just in time to repel a Dokugumon. The monster slammed into her shield hard enough to press her back against the railing, and she struggled to push back against the enemy.

“Gammamon evolution!” she heard from somewhere. “Betel Gammamon!” Flaming claws tore into the Dokugumon, rendering it back to base data and saving Cassie from falling.

“Thanks!” she thanked her savior as it’s partner came up to her. “I got your distress signal earlier and came as fast as I could.”

“And your assistance is very much appreciated,” the Tamer said. “Betel, let’s help Rasenmon!”

“I’m on it!” the red and white dinosaur Digimon leapt away to join Rasenmon in fighting the Arachnemon. Cassie checked the field again and saw that all of the Dokugumon had been defeated.

And every single eye was trained on the fight with Arachnemon.

Three Ultramarines approached the two kids, their leader being the black haired man with four service studs and approaching her like a military officer on a mission.

“Only one Xenos remains,” the Astartes said and looked to the two Tamers, “and you two have some explaining to do.”

Betel Gammamon landed hard behind the Astartes then, and the new Tamer rushed over to her partner.

“Explanations can wait,” Cassie said, turning back to the fight. Rasenmon continued to pummel the Arachnemon, making no progress in defeating the crazed spider monster. She examined the data flow on her bracelet again, trying to understand what was going on with the enemy and coming to a conclusion. She called out to the other Tamer, “Hey, kid! Has anything weird been brought onboard recently?”

It took a moment for the kid to reply in the affirmative and the Astartes seemed to come to a similar conclusion as her. Cassie approached the girl and held out her hand.

“Mind if I see your Digivice? I’m giving you a firewall program to lock down whatever is empowering Arachnemon.” She explained. The girl hesitantly handed over her old Digivice; it resembled the old Digimon V-pets from her universe before they were rendered obsolete. In her other hand, a digital orb of code appeared and she pressed it into the Digivice. She handed the device back and said, “It’ll take both you and your partner to make this work. Rasenmon and I will keep Arachnemon occupied.”

Saoirse understood her assignment and immediately darted back to the armory to speak with a certain Magos.

“Magos Galeo,” she called out, rushing over to his station. “Where is the object that was extracted from Kadaku?”

“That is classified--” the Magos was about to inquire why she needed to know, but was cut off by the familiar tone of the Lieutenant.

“It needs to be sealed by a Tamer,” Titus explained. “It’s the only way to defeat that creature.” The Magos immediately gave the location of the object and another Tech Priest led them to it.

It took a lift ride and minutes of navigating through the ship for them to get to the vault the item was held in. Several Tech Priests were monitoring it at the time they entered, and the accompanying Tech Priest quickly explained their sudden appearance before Saoirse and Betel Gammamon stepped toward the chained case.

Saoirse’s Digivice glowed as the program the other Tamer gave her earlier began to work. Rings of code formed around the object, revealing the shadow she saw on it when it was first brought onboard. It violently thrashed against the additional chains in vain and only ceased when the Digivice beeped upon the full execution of the program.

Cassie got the notification that the program was in effect and called out to her partner, “It’s vulnerable now! Go for it!”

Rasenmon reared back, and with all his might, punched the Arachnemon broke into bits of code.

Chapter Text

"So this is what we get for helping?!" Cassie raged in her cell, Rasenmon quietly resting in the Digi-Bracelet. Soon after the battle had wrapped up and her partner was healing in the bracelet, she had immediately been accosted by Astartes and thrown into the brig for interrogation.

"At least we still have our heads," she heard Rasenmon pipe up through the bracelet. "Still, this is a bunch of bull!"

"See if we help them after this," she continued to seethe at their current predicament. She was used to distrust or getting disregarded completely by adults, but never had she been imprisoned. She took a deep breath and released it to calm herself. "Did you get a look over the data reading?"

"Yeah, and this looks a lot worse than what Digi-miasma does in our universe," they looked over the data stream from the fight. "Is this what the Mechanicus calls 'scrap data'?"

"Or what it's based off of," she compared the data to Imperium coding and made note of the dissimilarities. "This coding looks nothing man-made, and it acts more like an imprisoning code…"

"Hmm," her partner had to agree with her on this. While they hadn't interacted much with the Imperium's coding used for their terminals, they could still spot massive differences between samples of data. "A virus made to imprison something?"

"A virus to lock down another virus maybe?"

"Fight fire with fire?"

"In a way, yes. Ugh, we need to examine whatever Arachnemon was attached to." She leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor with a sigh.

She had no idea how long she'd been in the cell before an Astartes made his way to her cell door. This Astartes sported a skull-like helmet and black robes on top of the blue armor.

"So, you are the Tamer the others speak of," he said, his voice distorted through his helmet's speakers. "The Mechanicus have gone so far as to invoke the Treaty of Mars to ensure your safety."

"And I'm guessing you're from the Inquisition organization multiple terminals told me to avoid at all costs," she deadpanned back.

"I am the Second Company's Chaplain," he said. "I ensure the purity of the Chapter and snuff out corruption. The Inquisition, through the Treaty of Mars, cannot touch you unless you prove to be a threat."

"Are you a Digimon disguised as an Astartes?"

"…No?" She heard confusion in his tone and she cracked a smug smirk.

"Then you have nothing to worry about from me."

"…Is it possible-"

"Yes, it's happened before. I speak from experience on that and I absolutely hate dealing with those Digimon."

He was quiet for a long moment and Cassie was beginning to wonder if she broke the man when he asked, "You clearly have experience in combat. The way you handled that gun earlier suggests a form of military training."

"I have family in the military. They made sure I could defend myself if needed." She didn't think anyone would believe she was from another universe without declaring her a heretic, so she just gave a bare basic explanation.

"Interesting, considering that Morias Leuze reported some quite outlandish tales you told him and verified," That got her on her feet and on edge. "A Tamer with years of experience in dealing with digital threats, survivor of her world burning and reaching a vastly different version of Terra, and secret hero of her people."

"I only helped the real heroes," she muttered. "I'm no Spartan."

"No, yet you are on the path of a noble warrior." Another moment passed in silence, the Chaplain and Tamer staring each other down.

Why did she have to open her mouth with that Tech Priest? Why in the hell did he even report everything she said? Did he believe her after all? Or did they all think she was crazy?

"I am skeptical of these claims," the Chaplain finally said. "Yet your steadfastness in battle shows an experience only seen from veterans.

"Leuze claims you can turn the tide of this war as you did before in another universe, and the Mechanicus appear to agree with him. While they may protect you, I will be watching your every move. Should you prove to be an enemy, I will not hesitate to execute you." The Astartes opened the cell door and motioned her to get out. Steeling herself, Cassie stepped out of the cell and followed him down the corridor where Leuze awaited for them.

Saoirse tried to understand the data stream her Digivice was displaying. Once the battle had concluded, she and Betel Gammamon had been kept inside the vault by orders from the Mechanicus. Titus, Gadriel and Chairon were ordered away by the Captain, leaving the child and Digimon alone with several Tech Priests eager to study the data stream she and her partner revealed.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," she groaned, overwhelmed by the coded language she barely understood. Betel Gammamon likewise groaned too, not completely understanding what they were trying to decipher. "This code is beyond me!"

"I can't understand it either," Betel Gammamon said from inside the Digivice, his tone indicating his frustration. "How did that Tamer and her partner read all of this so fast?"

"We have three years of experience in coding," a familiar voice said behind them and Saoirse turned to see the Tamer from earlier walk up to her with Morias Leuze slightly behind her. The girl came up to stand beside her and continued, "The name's Cassie, and my partner is Rasenmon."

The now identified Cassie raised her left hand, showing her bracelet Digivice with her partner's avatar receiving medical treatment.

"My name is Saoirse, and my partner is Betel Gammamon," she replied, holding up her own Digivice to show her partner waving at their new ally. "How long have you been a Tamer?"

"Around four years. I met my partner and got pulled into the Digital World after my seventh birthday." Cassie then turned to look at the artifact. A blue screen appeared in front of the veteran Tamer, surprising everyone around her. The stream of data Saoirse was trying to read earlier filled the screen and several more screens popped up. "I can see why you're having issues reading this. Parts of this isn't written in Imperial code."

"Really? Then what language is it written in?" This caught Saoirse's attention along with the nearby Tech Priests. They all watched her isolate chunks of code into three separate screens.

"This, is Imperial code added in by the Mechanicus," she pointed to one screen. "This over here is not Imperial or any code I've encountered." The next screen flashed with a translation error message. "And this last one is the most interesting part of all of this. It's called Digi-rune, an older language of coding than Digi-script."

"You mentioned Digi-script in my initial probing," Leuze spoke up, coming up to join the discussion. "You claimed it is the written language of the Digital World."

"Yes, and Digi-runes predate Digi-script by a wide margin," Cassie continued.

"Fascinating," the Tech Priest made note of this information and Saoirse drank in the knowledge the Tamer was giving them. "Can you translate it?"

"It'll take time, but it's doable." A smaller screen appeared on the display of Digi-runes with the words 'Translating' above an empty bar. "While that's going, is there anything you all can tell me about this object? Anything that's not classified?"

"Negative," a different Tech Priest responded. "You do not have clearance."

Cassie crossed her arms and tapped her foot, thinking on something.

"Can you keep translating if the artifact is in transit?" Leuze asked, motioning some Tech Priests to approach. "We must transport it to it's final destination."

Cassie was fully leaned back in her seat and eyes closed as the Mechanicus transport took her, Saoirse, Leuze, the accompanying Tech Priests and the artifact to a distant planet in the solar system. The translation software was still going, so she decided to catch a brief nap on the ride and advised her fellow Tamer to get some rest as well.

The Tech Priests conversed in their binary language, thinking the Tamers couldn't understand them. It was through this careless slip that she was able to learn that the artifact was a power source for a device meant to affect something called 'warp energies', and that a faction called 'Chaos' was after this artifact.

She didn't know enough of this universe to understand why they'd resort to use something so dangerous. What she did know was that the Machine Spirits she encountered knew the dangers and had all but given her classified information wrapped up like a Christmas present. While the Tech Priests proudly thought they had the perfect weapon to fight Chaos, their computers lacked any form of hubris and had reached out to someone that could stop them.

Now the problem had become how to stop the impending disaster without getting shot or maimed.

Chapter Text

Something tickled the back of Cassie's mind as she followed the retinue of Mechanicus personnel into a dig site on a planet reserved for burials. Here and there she heard mention of a Chapter Master named Lord Calgar, and somehow it seemed familiar to her.

"Uh, Cassie?" Saoirse got her attention in a tiny voice. The newer Tamer was very unsure of herself, and Cassie would gladly help her get her footing. "How did you get on the battle barge in the first place?"

"I can dive into computer networks and travel huge distances that way," she explained. "In my universe, it was the safest and fastest way for me and my partner to get from one place to another. Here, however, it's not so reliable."

"Why's that?"

"Archaic networks, unstable connectivity, and I could accidentally set off security measures that would get myself and my partner killed."

A Tech Priest squawked when she called their computer networks archaic. Somehow she knew it was an indignant sound. Comparing the two universes was like comparing night to day, especially on the technological front.

"Have you ever met this Lord Calgar I keep hearing about?" she asked her new friend.

"No, and I doubt I ever will," Saoirse said. "He is the Ultramarines Chapter Master; very important among the Astartes, second to the Lord Regent."

"Mind explaining a bit? My universe doesn't have Astartes or a God Emperor."

That earned her a double take from the girl and everyone around them.

"Careful, you'll get whiplash," Cassie teased them. They were coming to a sterilization chamber now. Just how deep did this place go?

"A Chapter Master is the head of an Astartes Legion or Chapter," Morias Leuze explained, not as surprised as the rest of their group. "Do your people worship any gods? What of Warp travel?"

"The Warp doesn't exist in my universe, at least not in any way for us to interact with. As for deities…are you familiar with your Terra's ancient history?"

"Vaguely," he admitted and Saoirse shook her head.

"There are many cultures in our shared histories. It's a mixed bag of yes and no depending on who you ask. There are atheists, Christians, and a wide variety of pagans in my home universe."

"I feel we should change our topic of discussion before you are accused of heresy."

"Probably a good idea."

All conversation stopped as the latch closed behind them in the chamber and the decontamination process started. No one spoke until the procedure ended and they exited the other side of the chamber.

"Marneus Calgar…" Cassie muttered under her breath, remembering a friend from years ago.

"What is it?" Saoirse asked, head tilted.

"Just starting to think an old friend of mine might have been from this universe." Her new friend stared at her as they continued to walk. "His name was Tacitan. We met in a Digital World when it was in crisis and worked together to save it. He was dressed kind of like you, but I didn't think much of it at the time."

"Tacitan? That's a name I haven't heard in a long while," Rasenmon spoke up from the Digi-Bracelet. "He and his partner were fierce fighters."

"And good strategists," Cassie smiled, remembering the scrappy boy that had gradually overcame his fear of Digimon and really showed his brilliant mind when needed. "I remember he said he had been selected to join his friend Marneus Calgar in some sort of initiation. After that, I never saw him in the Digital World again, and then my home world was invaded, and that network was destroyed along with that Digital World."

"Considering that you were called here would make that theory plausible," Leuze threw in his two cents. "However, Lord Calgar is centuries old."

"Time flows differently in the Digital World. A year in there is an hour out here in reality."

"But you did not travel into a Digital World."

"I got called here by a Digital World. And since this is a completely new scenario that's never been experienced before, I wouldn't be surprised if time flows differently between mine and this universe." They kept going deeper and deeper down. Whatever was down here had to be ancient and extremely dangerous. "How much further do we need to go?"

"Not much further."

During this entire exchange, Cassie had been drumming two of her fingers on her Digi-Bracelet in what would look like a nervous tick to anyone around her, but there was a rhythm to the drumming. It was a code she and her partners had developed during the Earth Invasion to communicate with allies.

And she prayed to this universe's God Emperor that the message would get through to the Ultramarines before everything goes to hell in a handbasket and her second message would reach her friends.

Titus and his squad reported to the Captain after a disastrous mission to get a message out through the Astral Choir. Chaos forces were appearing en mass on the very planet Project Aurora was kept, and something more had been added to the mix.

"The Tamer, Cassandra, has sent us a message," Captain Acheran said, leveling his gaze with Titus. "She translated something stored in the artifact. You were right about this, but not on the scale of disaster we are about to face."

"What did she find?" He asked, curious as to what this Tamer found that would put the Captain on edge.

"The power source is a key to a prison. Made by who, we do not know yet, but whatever they imprisoned scared them enough to put multiple fail safes in place that the Mechanicus have been unknowingly undoing. Cassandra called it a Ragnarok level threat."

"Ragnarok?" Chairon asked this. "An old myth from Terra's ancient past that depicts a very destructive end of the world."

"And possibly an apt description of what's to come, but on a larger scale. Cassandra will do what she can to stop Leuze from activating Aurora, but we need to be ready for the worst case scenario. Get down there and stop Leuze."

In the space between dimensions, where a golden figure observed all of humanity, three streaks of light shot through, hurling towards the brewing conflict. The figure observed the lights and subtly guided them to where they were needed.

Once the end of their trek was in sight, Cassie decided to bring up a topic herself.

"You know, I don't think I ever got the the Danger Categories my friends and I made," she said as they approached the consoles and machines hooked up to a massive, black obelisk looking structure. Leuze was typing away on the console, but she had his attention. The other Mechanicus priests had left some time ago to secure the area. "There's the Ragnarok scenario where a Digimon, singular or a group of them, are strong enough to cause catastrophic destruction to both the Digital World and the real world. I've dealt with several Digimon that would have destroyed an entire planet if left alone. The other category is Black Winter. A Black Winter level threat is one you'd better be praying you don't unleash here, Leuze."

He froze, Saoirse whipped around to look at her, and Cassie crossed her arms.

"The translation was completed hours ago; both the Digi-runes and the Necron text. It was a warning to never use the artifact you're about to use on a Necron gate like this, or a Digimon this universe's Digidestined far back in the past sacrificed themselves to seal away will get out and destroy all of creation. Leuze, if you activate the Aurora weapon, you'll be unleashing something far worse than anything that comes out of the Warp. Something I and my partner could never handle on our own.

"For the love of the Machine God you worship, do not activate Aurora."

For a long moment, Leuze said nothing. Then he pressed a button. They were encased in a dome of energy, and both Cassie and Saoirse fell to their knees in pain. The screen of her Digi-Bracelet flickered between static and the image of her partner roaring in pain.

"There is no other way, Cassandra," the Magos said. "You are not from this universe. You do not understand how desperate we are to go to these lengths.

"So, let me complete my life's work. Trust that I know what I am doing."

Cassie only glared at him as proceeded to power up the device.

Chapter Text

They finally reached the site of Aurora's activation. The signs of Necron constructs were a dead giveaway to what the Mechanicus were experimenting with to create this supposed weapon.

"Why do the Mechanicus meddle with things beyond their understanding?" Gadriel said in frustration.

"Look!" Chairon pointed to the console close to the giant obelisk. Leuze, Cassandra and Saoirse were encased in a dome of energy, and they were under fire from Chaos forces. "What has he done to the Tamers?"

Upon a closer look, Titus saw the two children in pain, struggling to stand. Cassandra was carrying Saoirse to the edge of the dome, away from the enemy fire.

"Take out the enemy, then secure the Tamers," he said and raised his gun. Several bolts tore through enemy Astartes, getting their attention, and his battle brothers joined him in felling the enemy.

Once the shells of the Thousand Sons fell, he stepped toward the dome just a Cassandra stepped out of it with Saoirse on her back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Leuze!" Titus called out. Chairon approached the two Tamers, lifting Saoirse off of Cassandra.

Leuze turned from his work, clearly not perturbed by the battle that had waged behind him moments ago.

"Lieutenant Titus! Praise the Omnissiah!" the Magos said in excitement. "In just a few minutes, you will bear witness to-"

"You must stop this!" Titus cut him off, seeing Chairon slowly back away from Cassandra.

"Sire, please! I know you have your concerns, but look-this is merely a taste of what the device is capable of." Leuze had his arms stretched out, indicating to the Chaos Marines phasing in and out of reality from their close proximity to the machine.

"And I have seen the worst it can do!"

"My Lord, you…you must trust me. This has…has been my quest for knowledge, my life's work-"

"Shut it down!" He took a step forward. "Now!"

Leuze took a slow breath, and said, "I will not."

Titus and Gadriel took aim and fired at the barrier. The dome remained unphased by the impacts done by the bolt rounds.

"Leuze," All eyes turned to Cassandra, surrounded by glitching bits of data, eyes tinted red, and her voice overlaid with a feral tone. "Remember when I told you about Dark Digivolution?"

The Magos's human eye widened and his skin turned ashen, as though coming to a damning conclusion. More and more bits of data appeared, forming a transparent shape of a Digimon creature similar to the partner Titus had seen hours earlier.

A familiar chuckled echoed around them.

"You tiny grains of sand, prattling as you tumble."

"Imurah," Chairon growled as the sorcerer appeared above them all.

"For a moment it seemed you might do my work for me. But alas, I must finish this myself. Witness true power!" The enemy Astartes unleashed a stream of Warp lightning upon the dome. Again the dome stood strong.

Leuze chuckled, but quieted when Cassandra and the Digimon swiped Imurah hard enough for the traitor Astartes to leave an indention in the cavern wall. The sorcerer shot another bolt of lightning and summoned a Helbrute. It stood no chance as the Digimon tore it to shreds mercilessly.

"Saoirse, do you have a Theoretical?" Chairon asked the now standing Tamer. The two were still close by to the now rampaging Cassandra whom had turned her attention to striking the dome. And she was breaking it down.

Saoirse didn't explain anything, but ran up to her fellow Tamer and slapped her.

"Snap out of it!" she yelled. "You'll hurt our friends!"

That did something. The raven haired girl froze for a moment, then roared in pain, gripping her head as she resisted the urge to destroy everything in sight. The data around her glitched even worse than before and began to fade away.

"Lord Chairon, help!" Saoirse called out and the Astartes hurried over to restrain Cassandra. The girl thrashed in his hold, but he held firm. "Keep her from hurting herself! She and Rasenmon are fighting the Dark Digivolution process."

"Enough of these childish games!" Imurah snapped flying back to the machine.

"Then let us put an end to this once and for all." Leuze responded and pulled a lever. Aurora came to life and the obelisk began to glow purple as it reactivated after aeons of dormancy. Chairon carried a mostly calm Cassandra back to the squad with Saoirse following him. Imurah screamed in pain as he was forced back into the Warp.

"Where is he?" Chairon asked, looking to the sides as though expecting him to appear in their blind spots.

"With Aurora active," Leuze explained, "he, and others like him, cannot exist here."

"We will see," Titus remained unconvinced as the Magos continued.

"This is only the beginning! With these devices, we will seal the Great Rift and drive the heretics back into the Warp…with nothing more than a transference of alignment." Leuze approaced what looked to be a smaller version of the obelisk and flipped it over.

And they all felt a familiar pulse. The earth shook around them as something big slammed against the obelisk on the other side of the prison Leuze had unlocked. The Aurora machine blared an alarm as parts of it began to fritz and spark, and the dome powered off.

"What genius!" Imurah's sinister laugh echoed. "Tell us, dear Leuze, from which ocean did you gather these pearls of wisdom? Is it not the dream of every scientist to discover the birthplace of all knowledge? Behold! The source of your inspiration!"

The most irritating sorcerer reappeared above Aurora and swiftly killed Leuze with a blast of Warp energy. Titus and his battle brothers opened fire on the enemy, but he remained unphased as he retrieved the artifact.

"Now, for the final act!" Another pulse blasted the area and triggered a cave-in. The vox came on as Titus, Gadriel and Chairon huddled together to keep themselves and the Tamers alive.

The next time Cassie came to, someone was carrying her.

"Leuze was the unwitting puppet of the enemy," she heard a familiar voice. It was one of the Astartes Saoirse told her about. Gadriel was it?

"I doubt the enemy knew of the greater threat they just unleashed," the Astartes carrying her spoke. Was that Chairon? He must have noticed her stirring because he said, "Hold, brothers. She's waking up."

They stopped and Cassie struggled to open her eyes.

"Cassie?" she heard Saoirse's voice.

She blinked several times, clearing her vision and slowly waking up. Saoirse, Titus, and Gadriel were looking at her, and Chairon knelt to let her down.

"Can you stand?" the dark skinned Astartes asked her. She struggled to stand on her own and the man had to steady her.

"Right…pocket…" she said and Saoirse stepped forward.

"I've been meaning to ask, why do you have so many pockets?" the Tamer asked as she took out the card tin from one of the many pockets on her pants.

Cassie took the tin from her friend, opened it and tapped her Digi-Bracelet against one of the Dim cards containing her team healer. Her Digivice lit up and she felt loads better as one of her secondary partners worked his magic.

"Oh, that is so much better," she sighed and stood steady. "And to answer your question: cargo pants are practical for carrying small things like this." She held up the now closed tin. "Anywho, what happened? I remember dragging you away from the machine, but after that…"

"When Leuze began to activate the Aurora machine, it triggered Rasenmon's Dark Digivolution," Saoirse explained and Cassie flinched. "Are you two alright?"

"I think so," she held up her bracelet and looked at her partner. "Rasenmon? You good?"

"Ugh! I have a massive headache, but I'll be okay," her partner responded.

"What about you and Betel Gammamon?" she asked her fellow Tamer.

"I…I am fine," the hesitation in her voice did not bode well as she held up her Digivice. Betel Gammamon had Digivolved into Arcturusmon.

"What the…?! He warpped Digivolved?!"

"You got a problem with that?" Arcturusmon snarled.

"Are you going to tear the hell out of whatever go loose?"

"Yes!" He said with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Then we don't have a problem," Yet.

"I didn't know it had happened until after we got out," Saoirse continued, clearly worried about her partner. Cassie couldn't blame her; this was technically a Dark Digivolution for her partner.

"Your partner is stronger," Gadriel spoke up. "Is this not a good thing?"

"He Dark Digivolved," Cassie said and all three Astartes got the message. They saw what it did to her and her partner. She sighed and said, "We need to get outside and assess the situation."

"Agreed," Titus said. They fell into a formation with the two Tamers in the center of the group and the Lieutenant led them through the tunnel. "Cassandra, regarding the digital threat. Do you have a Theoretical to deal with it?"

"I don't have enough information about the Digimon that was sealed," she said. "The warning didn't give any indication of what it is. If it's something my partner and I can handle, we will deal with it."

"And if it's not?"

"Then advise all Imperial forces to get off world. If it is a world ending threat…I have a last resort method that'll for sure take care of it." One of the things she hated about the Human-Covenant War was the fact she and her fellow Tamers had to prepare the absolute worst nightmares of the Digital World in case they were left with no other option. The one Cassie had prepared just before she made the trip to the Ark…it would do the job without fail.

"Let us hope it does not come to that," said Chairon, clearly not liking the implications left unsaid.

Chapter Text

Cassie had seen some absolute bat crap crazy scenarios, but what she and her group of allies stepped out into took the cake. Upon opening the Mechanicus built door, they were greeted by the sight of the active monolith and a warped reality.

"Foul taint!" Chairon growled. They all could hear the wails of Guardsmen who had lost their minds to exposure to whatever this was.

"Throne! This is worse than what I imagined," said Gadriel.

"Titus to Acheran, come in," Titus tried to hail their Company Captain, but got only interference from an unknown voice. "We must find our brothers."

They began to descend down what remained of the mountain the Mechanicus base had been, and came across soldiers speaking gibberish.

"Cadians!" Chairon sounded shocked to see these soldiers acting like this.

"What's wrong with them?" Cassie asked, avoiding a stumbling soldier chanting the word nine over and over.

"They were not prepared for exposure to corruption on this scale," Gadriel said solemnly.

"Few ever are," Titus continued to lead them through the shattered terrain, being careful not to collide with the soldiers.

"Should we show them the Emperor's mercy?" Somehow, Cassie was sure Chairon was suggesting putting a bullet through every single soldiers head.

"Leave that to the commissariat," Gadriel's words only confirmed her grim conclusion.

"Is there nothing we can do to help them?" Saoirse asked, clearly upset about this situation.

"No," Titus's tone greatly softened when he gave his answer, even when he continued the march. "Come. We must regroup with our brothers."

They stopped speaking as they traversed further, occasionally having to deal with Astartes in armor like the ones she'd seen back in the caverns. Traitor Astartes, she remembered vaguely. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something rush by in the shadows, and her sixth sense kicked in again.

"Get down!" she called out and tackled Saoirse down. All three Astartes just managed to avoid the red slash attack and they opened fire in the direction of where the attack came from. Looking over, a Devimon riddled with massive holes dissipated into corrupted data. "A Devimon?"

"Was that what was imprisoned?" Gadriel asked, glancing around searching for any other enemy.

"No, that was just a corrupted Digimon I think." She and Saoirse got up and they all continued walking. "Whatever was sealed, it wouldn't go down so easy."

"On the battle barge, when the spider creatures attacked, Saoirse called them minions to the Arachnemon," Titus brought up, clearly trying to see if she could make any connection between the Devimon and the big baddie they were going to have to confront.

Cassie sighed and informed them, "I see where you're going with that train of thought, but that applies to lower leveled Digimon trying to climb to their final evolution or just plain lazy and cowardly Digimon. The Digimon that called for imprisonment is neither of those; it's something solely focused on eating away data of any form and doesn't have the capacity to care about controlling underlings."

"So, similar to Tyranids?" Saoirse asked, trying to compare this unknown Digimon to something she was familiar with.

"Minus a Hive Mind and possibly the size of the battle barge."

They came across a cave with a collapsed section in the floor. Chairon and Gadriel each picked up one of the kids and jumped over the hole before Titus followed behind them.

"I am receiving a codded locator signal," Chairon called out. "Acheran's signature. Not far from here."

"Can we trust it?" Gadriel asked, readying his gun as they heard the sounds of a fire fight nearby.

"I believe so."

They came to another door, and heard the screech of a Digimon and a multitude of gun blasts.

"Saoirse, are you and Arcturusmon ready to fight?" Cassie looked her fellow Tamer in the eye, slipping her goggles over her eyes in preparation.

Saoirse took a deep breath, and slowly released it. Cassie couldn't blame her for her hesitation; this would be this kid's first big fight in real life.

"We're ready," the girl said, holding up her Digivice.

"Let's go!" Arcturusmon roared his anticipation.

"We've got allies out there," Cassie reminded him. "Just don't hurt them while going crazy on what's out there."

"You don't need to tell me twice," the black Digimon said, not at all phased by her reminder.

"Then ready yourselves," Titus said before punching in the code to open the door. The decorated slab rose to reveal a mix of traitor Astartes and guardsmen attacking-

"Oh shit!" Both Cassie and Rasenmon swore when they saw the sleeping form of Belphemon and a swarm of Deathmon.

"What is it?" Titus asked, taken aback by the sudden outburst from them.

"That's a Demon Lord!" She hurriedly pulled out her Dim card tin. "Hold on. I'm bringing out all of my partners for this."

"Wait, you have more Digimon partners?" Saoirse looked to her in surprise.

"I'll explain later," she tapped her Digi-Bracelet against the top of the tin and twenty digital portals opened above the battle field.

"Correction: she has a small army of Digimon," Chairon said with a hint of surprise in his tone. Gadriel looked rather impressed when Gundramon emerged and Titus was unreadable. Arcturusmon jumped out and joined the fight against the swarm of Deathmon.

Cassie stowed away the tin, brought up her bracelet to her face and gave the following command, "Everyone, take out the Deathmon swarm. Leave Belphemon alone unless he wakes up on his own."

"Copy that, Cassie," she heard Omegamon acknowledge the order as her partners minus Rasenmon engaged with the enemy forces.

"Why leave the big one alone?" Titus asked as he brought up his gun and started firing at the enemy Astartes.

"Too long to explain, but in short: he's not capable of controlling or absorbing these Digimon in this form. Better to leave him alone like this." Cassie brought out Rasenmon then and took cover behind some rubble as the enemy took note of their group. "Trust me when I say this is one Digimon you will not win against in a fight."

"She's right," Saoirse joined her while also letting loose her partner. "Still, this is a worrying sign."

"I'm not sensing any of the other Demon Lords here, but something feels off about this one here," Cassie's Lillithmon informed them through her bracelet. She heard Titus get the still sane guardsmen and women up to speed with the situation and to avoid attacking the Belphemon. Saoirse's eyes locked onto the sleeping giant, as though something about the Demon Lord confused her.

"Do you hear that?" the girl asked. It took a moment, but Cassie heard a faint whimper over the sound of battle. "It's crying?"

"Down!" she yanked the Tamer back down as bolts flew past them. Cassie looked at her Digi-Bracelet and tried to focus on the Belphemon's data burst. The swarm of Deathmon were not helping in the slightest, but even then the Demon Lord's data should've been easy to detect, even in sleep mode. "Hey Lils? You sure this is a Belphemon?"

A moment passed before Lillithmon responded with a confused tone, "For sure."

"Can you get us some data from it?" She watched her partner get close to the sleeping monster and a clear stream of data came through. "Well now, this is interesting!"

"What is it?" Saoirse risked peaking over cover to check the ensuing battle. "The Deathmon are gone now."

"That Belphemon didn't Digivolve naturally. Someone's partner got forced into this form." Rasenmon emerged from the Digi-Bracelet then and picked both girls up. The giant gray Digimon carrying the two kids toward the giant caught their Astartes friends' attention.

"What is it?" Titus called out to them, catching up to them with Chairon and Gadriel following him.

Cassie quickly summarized what they found out. "So now we have a Digimon that can probably give us some answers to what we're going up against."

"And how do you plan to extract this information from a sleeping Digimon?" Gadriel pointed out.

"We won't need to extract it from him. He seems more than willing to share everything he knows." Saoirse answered this time, eyes trained on the giant. Arcturusmon flew down and landed just as they got the Belphemon's foot. Rasenmon gently set them down and Saoirse asked her partner, "Arcturusmon, can you help me with this?"

"What do you have in mind?" the black partner asked, but still indicated he would help.

"I want to Dive into his memories," the girl said with all seriousness.

"Have you done a Digital Dive before?" Cassie asked, curious about where this sudden confidence came from.

"Does going back and forth between the Digital World and the real world count?"

"That's what a Digital Dive is meant for, but what about using it to traverse networks?"

"…No."

"Do you trust your partner?" Now she was starting to see where this was going.

"With my life."

"Alright then. When you activate the Dive, focus on the Belphemon's data. It'll be different than jumping into the Digital World, so brace yourself."

"Is this wise?" Gadriel interjected. "Commencing with a Dive might draw more attention from unfriendly forces."

"Sargent, this is the first clue we've come across regarding the sealed Digimon that got unleashed," Cassie pointed out. "Any information regarding it or the events leading to it's containment can save our butts at this point."

"How long will this take?" Titus asked.

"Considering this guy is practically asking for help, not long."

The three men exchanged glances, then stepped back and stood guard.

"Alright. Ready, Saoirse?" Cassie also stepped back to watch her friend's first Dive.

The blonde girl approached the Belphemon with her partner, raised her hand and disappeared in a flurry of data.

Everything was dark, and Saoirse was only aware of herself and Arcturusmon floating in nothingness. Then, they saw it.

The white silhouette of a child and a Digimon ran passed them. Seven more children followed the first with their own partners, all of them running toward something. The Digimon were hit by some unknown force and turned into one of the Demon Lord Digimon, until the last partner remained. The children all tried to get through to their partners, but it was all in vain. The same unknown entity pulled the forcefully turned partners into a morphing mass of data, and the last remaining partner became a raging Belphemon.

The white silhouettes gained color then; each one different and all eight sported a symbol. One symbol Saoirse immediately recognized as Cassandra's Crest of Courage.

"DigiDestined?!" She realized. "You were a DigiDestined's partner!"

The Belphemon fell to the entity's influence and was absorbed into the data mass. The DigiDestined all raised their Digivices, and the forming abomination along with the entity were sealed into a crystal like object that would be used by the Mechanicus eons later. The memory ended there, but now a smaller version of Belphemon remained before them with tears streaming down his face.

"You got away from it somehow."

The little guy nodded.

"And the others?"

He shook his head.

"Do you…want to be our partner?"

He was still for a moment, and then nodded.

"You're being naive, Saoirse," Arcturusmon growled. "How do we know he won't brainwash you?"

"Do you really believe that yourself?" she turned to her partner. "You read the data, you know he didn't want this form. Can't….can't you trust me in this situation like I trust you?"

The black Digimon recoiled, as if hit by her words. Clearly, he didn't expect the words she spoke to come out.

"You…still trust me?" he asked, almost begging her to confirm what she said. "Even when I'm like this?"

"You're my best friend, no matter what form you take," she told him with every ounce of sincerity she held. "After everything we've been through, how could I doubt you?"

Her Digivice glowed a bright gold color. Arcturusmon also glowed and began to change form along with the Belphemon. Looking at her device, Saoirse could barely make out the golden crest shaped like a stylized 'M'.

Chapter Text

Cassie was grinning ear to ear when the golden light faded away. Saoirse stood before them holding a Digi-egg, and her partner had changed.

"Would you look at that," she said, stepping up to her fellow DigiDestined. "You earned your Crest!"

"This is the third time I heard mention of Crests," Chairon spoke up. "What exactly are Crests?"

Cassie held up her Digibracelet and her Crest glowed orange.

"Crests are special gifts granted to a select few Tamers that have proven themselves as worthy to tackle higher risk missions in the Digital World," she explained. "Tamers that receive a Crest are called DigiDestined and get additional abilities on top of the Digital Dive. Normally there are eight Crests, but Saoirse got the special ninth Crest."

Saoirse shifted the huge egg so she could show them her transformed Digivice with the new Crest glowing on the screen. The egg then glowed and was sucked into the Digivice, surprising everyone except Cassie and the present Digimon.

"Looks like you got a secondary partner too."

"Like how you have multiple Digimon?" the girl asked.

"Yes. Like you, I befriended many Digimon, and a good number of them decided to be my secondary partners. And no, being a DigiDestined is not tied to how many partners you have."

"We need to keep moving," Titus decided to bring them back to the awful reality they were in then. "You can explain more as we march."

"Hold on a moment," Cassie brought up her Digibracelet to her face and issued out the following order, "All partners, stay out of sight from enemy and Imperial forces as much as possible. If you can help our allies, go for it, otherwise do not engage in unnecessary fights." Her partners acknowledged her command and she had Rasenmon return to the device. "Saoirse, Siriusmon, it'd be best if we try to keep a low profile until we meet up with the rest of the Company."

They understood and Siriusmon returned to the Digivice.

They remained quiet for a long time, and Titus was able to reassess everything that had transpired in the past four days. There were no inscribed words in the Codex Astartes that mentioned anything related to digital lifeforms or children that could tame them. While this was out of his realm of understanding, this was nothing he and his battle brothers could not handle.

"What did you learn from the beast?" Gadriel asked as they continued their trek, following the signal they picked up earlier.

"There was a group of DigiDestined before us," Saoirse said. "Their partners were corrupted by something and forced to merge together into a massive monster. They were forced to seal their partners away, but the Belphemon was somehow able to break free from whatever held it prisoner."

"Did you see what the Digimon looked like? The one the partner Digimon were forced to become," Cassandra asked, her tone indicating she already had a Theoretical to what their enemy is.

"It was massive…had long, spindly legs, and glowing symbols glowing above it."

"Symbols that looked like Crests but different," that wasn't a question. Titus stopped the group and turned to look the veteran Tamer in the eye.

"You know what it is," he stated.

"Ogudomon," she didn't hesitate and he knew she was confident in her conclusion. "When two or all seven Demon Lords combine together, they create a world ending calamity."

"Have you fought one before?" Chairon asked.

"No, and it's more important now that we regroup with the Legion as fast as possible. This is going to take everything we've got to destroy it."

"Then let us make haste," Titus commanded before kicking through a pile of rubble in their path.

Once the monolith was visible again, did Gadriel ask, "Compared to the rift on Graia, how does this compare?"

"Unfathomably worse. A rift that size will unleash unspeakable horrors from the Warp."

"Huh? This might actually work for us," Cassandra pointed to the light coming from the gate, and they all noticed how the light from it kept flickering between purple and blue. "Those Warp forces are hogging up the portal space and are actively fighting to keep it under their control."

"Keeping Ogudomon from escaping into the materium," Saoirse brightened up at this. "They're buying us time without realizing it!"

"Indeed. Let us make the most of it." He led them further until they heard the familiar echos of battle. "Little ones, stay out of this fight."

Both Tamers didn't object and hid as the Astartes charged forward to engage the forces of Chaos attacking their brothers. Bolts flew and war cries tore through the air as they systematically executed their enemies. None of them stopped until they heard one of the Tamers scream and all eyes turned to see Cassandra struggle to keep her shield up against a daemon.

Finally, she managed to get a good footing and shoved the daemon back hard. Titus didn't hesitate to aim and shoot the abomination's head off in a explosion of gore.

"Thanks," she called out before she and Saoirse dove back into hiding.

With that, he fully returned to the fight and only ceased when the Ultramarines stood victorious.

"Titus," one of the two Astartes that stood guard over the entrance to the temporary command base. "We thought your squad had perished."

"We were spared that fate," he responded, signaling to the Tamers that it was safe. The two children hurried over to them as he continued, "We need to report to Acheran. The Tamers know what we are up against."

"Then proceed with haste, brothers," the two sentries stepped aside and opened the massive doors to let them in.

They were greeted in passing by fellow Ultramarines. Guardsmen that still stood shifted out of their path as they wove through the catacombs that were temporarily their base of operations.

"Is this what war is like?" Saoirse spoke her thoughts. This was her first time seeing the most gruesome side of war.

"It is," it was Cassandra that responded somberly. "And this isn't the worst we'll see of it."

"How bad was the war in your home universe?" Chairon asked, genuinely curious.

Titus could feel a shift in the air; the mood had drastically changed at the question, and he didn't need to look to know Cassandra was going through memories she'd rather forget. He could empathize with that.

"I…I'd rather not talk about it," was all she said and the subject was quickly dropped.

They quickly found Acheran and Major Sarkona of the Cadian Regiment discussing the current situation.

"Lieutenant, what in damnation do you call this?" Acheran demanded as his squad approached them.

"We failed to stop Leuze," Titus answered.

"I can see that." The Captain of the Second Company then turned his attention to Cassandra. "What do you know of the enemy, Tamer?"

"The creature in question takes the form of a world-ending class Digimon called Ogudomon," the girl's choice of words piqued Titus's interest. She described Saoirse's encounter with the Belphemon and the events surrounding the imprisonment of the Digimon. "From what she's described, we'll be facing a feral creature almost the size of the battle barge and no sentience beyond attacking and absorbing data."

"Can it be stopped?"

"It'll be one hell of a fight, but we'll do our best," the two Tamers exchanged looks, conveying the severity of the battle to come. "I have twenty ally Digimon ready to assist. If Saoirse and I can get to the obelisk and face the Ogudomon in it's jail, we'll have a chance to-"

The earth shook, cutting off Cassandra's strategy, and all eyes turned to the view of the battle field. A massive, spindly leg stretched out from the obelisk, it's clawed end leaving deep gashes as it dug back. The veteran Tamer wasted no time in giving the command to her partners.

"All partners, get to the obelisk now! Get all allied forces away from the Ogudomon!" She turned to her fellow Tamer. "Saoirse, ready for your baptism of fire?"

"Like Chairon locking in on to Chaos Marines," she responded and the mentioned Astartes scoffed in indignation. Titus and Gadriel shot him a look, conveying without saying anything that the child had spoken the truth.

"Acheran, all allied Digimon will have my Crest on them," Cassandra held up her device to show the symbol. "Mind spreading the word to not attack us?"

"Understood, and take Damocles with you," the Captain wasted no time in relaying the message and the orders to get away from the massive creature.

"Damocles?" Cassandra asked.

"Our squad's name," Gadriel explained. The squad of three Astartes turned to attention to her and Saoirse. "You two are not leaving without back up."

"Alright, get ready for one hell of a fight."

Chapter Text

Cassie and Saoirse were geared up with pistols before they were cleared for the mission. The more experienced Tamer checked her gear and touched base with her Digimon team on the field.

“Omegamon found a squad carrying the Company Standard not to far from here being overrun,” she reported, securing her goggles in place while Saoirse retied her hair.

“Ogudomon is our objective,” Titus said reluctantly. Gadriel and Chairon both looked as reluctant to leave their brothers behind as their Lieutenant.

“The team is keeping it at bay for now,” she pointed out. “We can secure the Standard quickly and get back to the objective.”

“We appreciate your consideration, Cassandra,” Chairon spoke up. “However, Ogudomon is far too large a threat to put off.”

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. This was expected. They came to a door, much like the one they passed through earlier when they found the makeshift base.

“The squad is just past this door,” she told them.  “Looks like we didn’t have much choice in the matter. Chaos forces are swarming the site.”

“You two stay here out of the line of fire,” Titus ordered the two Tamers. “Brothers, be ready to fight.”

“Aye, sir,” Gadriel responded, readying his gun. Cassie and Saoirse stood by the door controls and watched their Astartes friends enter the battle before closing the way behind them.

“Are we going to stay here?” Soirse asked Cassie, not at all believing the more experienced Tamer was going to let their friends me their end here.

“No,” she brought up a map of the battlefield. It encompassed a fifty kilometer radius around the monolith, their allies marked in green, Chaos forces yellow, and enemy Digimon red. At that moment, there were equal amounts of red and yellow markers on the display. Nearby Guardsmen noticed the display and began to gather around them as Cassie said, “More enemy Digimon are pouring out of the monolith. My partners are doing their best to thin them out and also keep Ogudomon from crossing over into this reality. We’ve got a massive Digimon heading this way; this one is called VenomMyotismon.”

A mini-display of the VenomMyotismon appeared above the map.

“We noticed that monster earlier,” one of the Guardsmen confirmed. “It’s been ignoring any gun and artillery fire so far.”

“It’s sensing us two,” Cassie concluded out loud, indicating herself and Saoirse. “We’re the bigger threats to it and the rest of the feral Digimon out there.”

“We have got to meet it head on before it gets here,” Saoirse chimed in. “A fight on that scale could cause massive casualties with it being too close to this base.”

“We’ll need to get outside, preferably up on the roof, to let our main partners out.”

One of the Guardsman stepped forward and said, “We will escort you up to the look-out. Astartes scouts are up there as well.”

“Lead the way then,” she pulled her pistol out and they made their way up to the look out.

The post was located in a tower with a perfect view of the battlefield, high above the base, and three Astartes operated what looked to be this universe’s version of scouting equipment.

“Tamers? What are you doing here?” one of the Astartes addressed them.

“We needed the space to let our partners loose on that,” Cassie pointed at the approaching VenomMyotismon, and her Digi-Bracelet glowed orange. “Rasenmon, go get’em!”

“I thought you’d never ask!” her partner roared, leaping out of the device, out into open air with enough momentum to get him close to the massive Digimon.

“Show us what you’ve got, Siriusmon!” Saoirse held out her own Digivice and her partner joined their friend in just a bombastic fashion as him, flying above the field and firing a barrage of energy shots in the enemy’s face.

“Well, that got his attention,” Cassie noted as the Digimon stumbled back and locked on to Siriusmon. Rasenmon dealt an upper cut and managed to knock VenomMyotismon down. “Don’t hold back! Pummel him while he’s down!”

“My Lords, can you spread the word to your brothers and the Guardsmen to stay away from this fight?” Saoirse asked the scouts and one of them sent the message over their communications line.

The Guardsmen that had accompanied them kept an eye on the walls below, occasionally shooting an enemy brave enough to climb the old mortar. Aerial Digimon couldn’t get near them without getting blasted out of the sky by either a bolt or one of Cassie’s partners protecting them.

From her view point, Cassie could see Damocles and the squad they went to back up gradually get swarmed by Chaos forces. Someone was holding up the Company Standard, taking pot shots like the badass he was. She looked back to the battle feed on her device and saw Gundramon was closest to the fight.

“Gundramon, can you do a bombing run on that fight?” she asked her partner and got a growl for a confirmation. She watched her gun heavy partner fly over the fight and took out a huge chunk of the enemy forces. “Good work!”

Her Digi-Bracelet let out a series of beeps and flashed silver, blue and pink. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then a massive grin formed as she realized someone had answered her call for help.

“What was that?” Saoirse asked, having heard the noise clearly.

A massive laser beam tore through the VenomMyotismon not a second later and the Digimon dissolved into bits of data. At the same time, Thunderhawks soared above the battle field their friends were at and completely wiped out the Chaos swarm.

“The cavalry is here!” Cassie crowed, her eyes turned to the sky, and pointed towards three incoming Digimon with their human partners. One particular Digimon that was easily the biggest Digimon on the field approached them, and she knew who’s partner this massive dragon was.

“Yo, Cassie!” a familiar voice nearly shouted from her Digi-Bracelet. “We got your message!”

“Good to see you, Cole Train,” she responded with the biggest smile. “Let’s regroup at base and we’ll exchange notes.”

“Roger that, Captain,” another voice spoke. “Don’t disappear on us again.”

“I don’t plan to.”

Titus was ready to die. He and his brothers were all aware they could die at any given moment, during war or not. His bolter continuously fired slugs of metal into the enemy as they closed in.

His hold on the Company Standard stayed firm as he aimed and shot Chaos minions one after another.

“Vengeance!” one of his brothers roared after one of their own fell.

It wasn’t long after that one of Cassandra’s partners, what looked like a robotic dragon made of gun barrels, flew over the battle and thinned out the enemy in a series of blasts.

“If we survive this, I will find a way to obtain my own partner that can do that,” he heard Chairon, but he wasn’t sure if he was jesting or serious in his declaration.

A Hellbrute stepped through the small rift and began to stomp to them. Titus locked in and unloaded his bolter’s magazine into the corrupted Dreadnought. None of his and his brother’s bolts did anything to it, but a bombing run from a swarm of Thunderhawks took it out in one go. He looked up to see a familiar and extremely welcomed figure jump off one of the Thunderhawks with two blade wielding guards following him. This Ultramarine wore Terminator armor and calmly strode up to him.

“Lord Calgar,” Titus greeted his Chapter Master with a salute.

“I received your message, Lieutenant. Brief me.”

Chapter Text

Cassie had to warn her allies of her team’s arrival so they didn’t shoot them out of the sky. Needless to say, the Ultramarine Captain sounded ecstatic at the news of more Tamers with their own partners coming to help.

“Is it normal for Digimon to grow to such proportions?” Captain Acheran inquired as Examon landed some distance away and lowered his massive claw to drop off the three Tamers that responded to her call.

“Not all of them,” she responded and waved to her three friends.

Elaina was the first to tackle her in a massive hug, the youngest of the Digidestined and holder of the Crest of Light. Next was Cole, and the big boy enveloped both girls in a bear hug. Samuel-034 stayed back, waiting for his teammates to calm down before approaching.

“Don’t ever do that again!” Elaina smacked her shoulder, tears streaming down her face. “We’re a team, and teams stick together!”

“I’m sorry,” Cassie apologized. “I didn’t expect to get pulled out of the ship when everything went down.”

“We’re just glad you’re okay, kiddo,” Sam spoke, his face hidden by his armor’s helmet. “More importantly though, what in the hell did you get yourself into?”

Her Digi-Bracelet beeped an alarm. She checked it, saw her partners keeping Ogudomon from fully entering real space were starting to loose ground and several had been badly injured.

“Okay, condensed version: an Ogudomon is trying to enter real space through that gate,” she pointed to the leg trying to claw it’s way out of the obelisk. “There is another faction of enemies called Chaos that’s trying to kill or corrupt everyone here. Our allies are the Ultramarines and the Imperial Guard.” She then gestured to Acheran and Major Sarkaana, indicating the current leaders of each force. “These are Captain Acheran of the Ultramarines Second Company and Major Sarkaana of the Guardsmen , and this-” she pointed to Saoirse, “-is our newest team member and Digidestined of Miracles, Saoirse.”

Saoirse gave a shy wave as the rest of the main partners came out. Cassie noted her old partner, Alphamon, was now sporting a spear and seemed to have gelled with Sam rather well. Elaina’s Ophanimon approached Rasenmon and began to heal him of his injuries. Siriusmon openly gaped at Examon. During her brief and quick explanation, Cassie noticed Titus’s and the squad’s return, plus three more Ultramarines that looked very important.

“Good to have another Tamer on board!” Cole said, stepping forward. “Name’s Augustus Cole, Digidestined of Friendship. The giant dragon is my partner, Examon. Feel free to call me Cole Train or Cole.”

“Greetings. I am Elaina Hood, Digidestined of Light, and my partner is Ophanimon.” Elaina was next to identify herself and her partner nodded to their new allies. “I’m one of the designated medics of the team.”

Samuel then stepped forward, his MJOLNIR armor dwarfed by the grandiose Ultramarine power armor, but still intimidating to normal people. “I am Samuel-034, Digidestined of Faith, and First Class Petty Officer Spartan within the UNSC. My original partner was Ouryumon until Cassie loaned me her Alphamon and they became Alphamon: Ouryuken mode.”

“Call me Alphamon,” the regal Digimon said, indicating himself.

“I’m glad you’re okay, bud,” Cassie said to her once partner.

“And I am glad to see you alive, Cassie,” Alphamon lightly flicked her forehead. “Don’t ever sacrifice yourself again!”

“That wasn’t the plan in the first place!” She squawked in irritation. “I got pulled here by this universe’s Digital World.” Another alarm blared from her device, this time indicating several of her partners had been thoroughly defeated and were out of commission. “We’re running out of time, team. Are you all ready to hit the ground running?”

“Affirmative, Captain,” Sam responded with the other two nodding before pulling out his Digivice, “and I believe this belongs to you.”

In a flash of light, Datamon jumped out and landed on her shoulder.

“Datamon!” Cassie gave her tiny partner a brief hug before setting him on the ground. “Ready to get back into the field?”

“Yes, and I have already analyzed the data you have gathered so far on this adventure,” the little cyborg Digimon said, while finding a ledge to climb up to address everyone and display a battle map. “I believe your Ultramarine friends know how to begin the shut down sequence for the obelisk and also power down the energy shield protecting the gate.”

All eyes went to the group of Ultramarines that came in late. It was Sargent Gadriel that stepped forward to the map.

“Back in the catacombs,” he began, “Leuze spoke of a ‘transference of alignment’ and then inverted an object resembling the obelisk.” He pointed at one of the floating obelisks, glowing with purple energy.

“Scan reports indicate four control consoles,” Datamon place four markers onto the map, each close to a smaller version of the obelisk powering the main gate. “However, enemy forces are marching through in great numbers. I would advise to send a team to one console to start to process. It will slow down Chaos forces enough to send more squads to the remaining three.”

“We will see to it done,” the largest and most decorated of the Ultramarines spoke up. If Cassie had to guess, judging by his apparent age, he was equivalent to Admiral Lord Hood in the command chain. His left eye had been replaced with cybernetic eye, and two massive studs adorned his temple just above the implant. There was also something familiar about him to her.

“That frees up my team to lock down Ogudomon,” Cassie spoke up. “Saoirse, you accompany the first squad to the console and take down any enemy Digimon that pops up. Once the squad has initiated the shut down sequence, regroup with us and we’ll take down Ogudomon together. In the mean time, the rest of the Digidestined will drive it back through the gate and our secondary partners will engage any Digimon coming through.”

“You say that as if you were going out into the field yourselves,” Chairon said, clearly thinking he was reminding her that she was no combatant.

“You should know better than to question that, brother,” Gadriel jested.

“Captain Acheran, do you trust their judgement?” the big guy asked the Second Company Captain.

“Tamer Cassandra has not led us astray yet, Chapter Master, and Sargent Gadriel’s assessment is as sound as it can get here,” said Acheran.

Chapter Master? So this was Marneus Calgar.

“Lieutenant?” Calgar looked to Titus. The Damocles squad exchanged glances.

“With my life,” was Titus’s answer.

“Captain, muster your company,” the Chapter Master ordered before walking away.  

“Aye, Chapter Master.”

Cassie raised a brow, but didn’t dwell on the odd dynamic she witnessed. There was clearly some history behind the Chapter Master’s trust in Titus that could be expanded upon later. For now, she and her team needed to strategize.

“Brothers! The heretics clamor for a taste of victory! But we will defy them this day as we have defied them for ten millennia. We are the sons of Ultramar, servants to the Emperor, and guardians of the Imperium. Let these wretches feel the wrath of ancient vengeance!”

The Chapter Master’s speech was met with cheers and the sound of armored fists pounding against chest plates in unison.

Cassandra watched Saoirse and Siriusmon follow Damocles along with the rest of the Company out into battle. She had protected the new Tamer for as long as she could, and now it was time for her to stand on her own for a little while.

“So, we now know for sure Tacitan was from this universe,” Rasenmon said.

“Yeah, the ‘sons of Ultramar’ bit clued me in,” she said, turning to check in with the rest of her team. “Team, we ready to go? Second Company is already taking the field.”

“In position,” came Sam’s response over the Digivices. Cole had stayed with her while Sam went to find a good sniper spot and Elaina got her secondary partners ready to tend to the wounded with the Apothecarys and military medics.

“We’re as ready as can be,” Elaina called out a few feet away while assisting a medic. “Some of my secondary partners are already backing up yours.”

“Mine are also kicking tail out there,” Cole reported.

“Then let’s get to it, Cole.” Hers and Cole’s Crests glowed.

Titus and his squad plus Saoirse and Siriusmon broke away from the advancing company right after a Greater Daemon appeared. The Tamer and Digimon quickly engaged with incoming enemy Digimon as he and his squad gunned down Chaos forces.

Just as he, Gadriel and Chairon approached the first control panel, a blinding light shone from the base.

“Program execute: Biomerge Evolution!” he and everyone else heard the cries of two distinct voices. Even from their current vantage point, they could clearly see Examon change and Rasenmon growing in size.

Examon now sported blue armor with a blue crest on full display. Rasenmon however wore orange armor with Cassandra’s Crest of Courage on his chest, had multiple guns on his back, and was now the same size as the Greater Daemon.

“Titus, do you see a solution yet?” Captain Acheran’s voice over the vox reminded him of his current objective, making him turn his gaze away from the two giants engaging with the enemy’s abomination.

“Stand by,” he responded, his eyes quickly combing over the controls until he spotted a miniature version of the obelisk. “There.”

Gadriel pushed him aside, took hold of the object and began to turn it over. Energy crackled as it moved, dragging the Sargent through a world of hurt. He roared in pain, powering through the pain he felt to completely flip the object. The corresponding obelisk also flipped and the light it emitted turned green.

“Brother!” Chairon approached Gadriel, steadying the man as he regained his bearings.

“I’m fine,” the Sargent said.

They noticed then that the Greater Daemon had shrunk considerably, but something massive had gotten through the gate in the process. It was black, appeared similar to a Digimon they had blasted to bits earlier, and it immediately went to attack Rasenmon. The creature didn’t stand a chance; Cassandra’s partner had immediately shoved the barrel of one of his guns into it’s mouth and blasted it’s head off.

“That felt personal,” Saoirse remarked.

“Let’s go,” Titus brought them back to the current situation. They quickly went to regroup with the Chapter Master and Captain Acheran.

“Datamon, what happened to Rasenmon?” Saoirse asked the cyborg Digimon through her device. “He looks different.”

“You heard the command Cassandra and Cole activated earlier, correct?” Datamon responded. “Cassandra and Rasenmon merged together as one to fight Ogudomon. The same goes for Cole and Examon.”

The dragon in question proceeded to unleash a massive blast at the emerging Ogudomon, knocking it back through the gate.

“Is that another unique trait for Digidestined?” asked Titus.

“Unknown. This current generation of Digidestined are the only ones currently recorded to be able to Biomerge.”

As they approached the Captain and Chapter Master, Saoirse and her partner broke off to regroup with the Digidestined of Light.

“My Lord,” Titus called out.

“Good work,” Calgar paused his attack to address them. “Do you have any squads in mind for the other two?”

“Veridian and Talasa.”

“I’ll get them moving!” Acheran said over his shoulder, continuing to fire upon enemy forces. “Brief them over Vox!”

“Yes, Captain.”

Saoirse quickly met up with Elaina and her main partner, seeing them wrap up healing a number of Guardsmen and badly injured Astartes.

“Saoirse!” Elaina noticed her. “I guess we’re moving to phase two now?”

“Yes,” she replied, glancing around trying to find the other Tamer. “Where is Sam?”

The armored Tamer dropped down from his high perch behind her, startling the poor girl.

“More higher level Digimon are starting to get through the gate,” he reported before asking her, “Have you Biomerged before?”

She shook her head as the scattered few Mechanicus priests all visibly turned to pay attention to this conversation.

“Sam, you and Alphamon go on ahead,” Elaina said. “I’ll walk her through this.”

Sam nodded and sprinted off to join the main fight. “Program execute: Biomerge Evolution!”

They watched Sam merge with Alphamon, and the Digimon’s spear morphed to have a rifle barrel in addition to being a spear and the gray Crest appeared on his chest.

“That’s Biomerge Evolution?”

“Yep,” Elaina came up to Saoirse and held up her device. It was very similar to Cassandra’s bracelet-like Digivice, but Elaina’s was pink and had the Crest of Light on display. “But, unlike the rest of us, you have a few teachers to walk you through the process. Are you ready to try?”

“Try?” That was not reassuring.

“Most of us had to try several times before we could Biomerge entirely. It completely depends on the bond between the kid and Digimon to work. If you trust your partner wholeheartedly, then it should work.”

“If you hold any doubts regarding your partner, then it will make the process more difficult,” Ophanimon added to Elaina’s explanation. “Cassie and her partner hold a near-unbreakable bond, and thus can Biomerge near effortlessly.”

“So, it’s all based on mutual trust?” Saoirse began to understand how Biomerging worked. “How do we start the process?”

“Do you know how to feel the bond?” Elaina asked, getting a confused look from the newest Digidestined. “That’s a no. You should feel something in the back of your mind. Try closing your eyes and focus.”

She did as the girl suggested, and felt Siriusmon’s presence in her mind.

“Yes! You’ve got it!” Elaina exclaimed as the Crest of Miracles glowed brightly from Saoirse’s Digivice.

Her eyes shot open. It was now or never.

“Program execute: Biomerge Evolution!” She called out. Saoirse and Siriusmon were pulled together into a Digiegg, achieving a new form through their bond.